Nowadays, e-mail, chats, blogs, and so forth have become well established as everyday means of communication. More particularly, in recent years there has been an increase in applications and services that enable the exchange of messages containing playful elements, with text decorated with still-image or moving-image (animation) CG (Computer Graphics), in addition to text-only messages.
Examples of such applications and services include a mail application that freely combines image templates and mail templates in a mobile phone, and transmits decorated mail, an application that distinguishes a specific pictogram or character string contained in received mail, and displays CG animation on a reception screen, a service that transmits a message together with a bodily movement, gesture, or facial expression of a character by means of a simple key operation, and so forth.
Also, to enable easy original creation of a character used for communication purposes, the technologies described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 employ a method whereby a character used for communication purposes is created by simple operations of selecting and combining character outfit and feature parts.
Furthermore, to enable animation for communication use to be given greater realism without the need for onerous operations, the technology described in Patent Document 3 employs a method whereby the outfit of an avatar (character representing the user) attached to mail is configured using user environment information (such as location, weather, time, and so forth).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-167287
    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-346173    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 11-346267